


Cookies (are for secrets)

by r0tkappchen



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Bullying, Fluff, Kids, M/M, powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 00:13:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17735333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/r0tkappchen/pseuds/r0tkappchen
Summary: Prompt #117 | The Little Prince Fic Fest: R1, Valentine SpecialKyungsoo has a Big Secret. Jongin has one too.Kyungsoo can't see what Jongin sees, and Jongin can't hear what Kyungsoo hears--but that's alright. Because no one gets it more than they do.[Aimer - Polaris. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJkQzZOdOsI]





	Cookies (are for secrets)

**Author's Note:**

> i was given a second chance so thank u mods!
> 
> wouldn't hv made it if not for X and S. hell, this was stuck at 700 wc for months 'till 5 days ago. so i can never thank them enough, a friend and a queen rocking the ficdom. special thanks to M, N and P too for always supporting me!
> 
> and lastly thank u to everyone willing to give this fic a read!
> 
> (trigger warning: bullying)

It hasn't always been like this.

 

There was a time when little Kyungsoo's face was always alight, heart-shaped smile ever so present along with the stars in his eyes. A time when days were decorated with laughter, marked with wonderful memories, and sealed with sweet dreams and lullabies that had him eagerly anticipating the next day the moment he was tucked into bed with his plushies, ready for yet another amazing day.

 

Days where the pale canvas of his skin was stained red from a healthy blush and the remnants of glee and giggles instead of cuts and bruises, when the curve of his lips turned upwards instead of the opposite, when his little palms were holding his peers' instead of trying to block the blows.

 

It just...hasn't always been like _this_.

 

And Kyungsoo wishes that this _this_ would go away, to let the old times come back, as he watches his classmates leave the classroom from beside his hiding spot beside the large shelf in the corner. Because if it does, then maybe he wouldn't have to hide and the extra brownies his mother baked for him to share with them wouldn't have to go to waste.

 

His lunchbox is clutched tight in his arms as he looks left and right, checking to see if anyone is left there besides himself. And when the line is clear, he runs out, footsteps silent because the last time he had alerted his classmates of his presence during recess, he didn't get to eat; food a mess on the ground.

 

The old treehouse behind the block is, per usual, uninhabited when he arrives – just as it should be. He pushes the lunchbox through the hole in the fence separating the school buildings and his secret hiding spot first before he gets down on all fours to crawl through, dusting off the dirt on his shorts once he's done because no, he doesn't want Mommy to ask about it again.

 

The climb up to the treehouse, although short, is a struggle even if he has been doing it for a month already. The distance between the wooden planks making up the ladder is a little too far for his short legs, the rope a tad bit too thick for his stubby fingers but he makes it work with a few huffs and puffs.

 

The familiar sight of crayon drawings pasted on wooden walls is what greets him first, bathed in golden rays from the lone window on the far corner. The treehouse is small, but big enough to fit him and his lunchbox. And that's all he needs.

 

Birds start to perch on the windowsill and squirrels sneak in with their fruits and acorns the second he plops down. Beneath the treehouse, cats and dogs are already waiting, and a tiny smile graces his lips.

 

Lifting the lid of his penguin lunchbox, Kyungsoo's peaceful lunch begins.

 

 

*

 

 

The sight of an unfamiliar woman on his doorstep is what breaks his routine.

 

“Soo, dear,” Mommy calls, voice soft and eyes gentle as she coaxes him near, “Come greet your new neighbour.”

 

Big eyes pan to the other woman's face, scanning to see if her eyes are too dark than it should be, if the curl of her smile is twisted like the monsters' in his dreams. Satisfied with what he finds – or rather, _doesn't_ – he comes forward, reaching for Mommy's outstretched hand.

 

“Hello,” the woman greets, and he stares, secretly liking the crinkling of her eyes above her high cheekbones and the warm glow of her tanned skin.

 

His response comes in the form of a little bow, although he goes to hide behind Mommy's leg once he's done with the short greeting. Mommy doesn't pester for more from him, instead entertaining the guest and telling her that her son is “shy”, to which the woman nods in understanding and offers him a wave.

 

His mother runs her fingers through his locks, gaining his attention. “Mrs. Kim here,” she says, “has a son. A new friend. Exciting isn't it, Soo-ah?”

 

Something lights up in his eyes, the thought of a _friend_ to fill the loneliness and silence around him and of laughter to share instead of jeers and sneers.

 

But if...if the son finds out about his secret—

 

the light in his eyes is gone too soon.

 

 

 

 

 

The moon is round and bright tonight, Kyungsoo notices as he peeks out his bedroom window.

 

Bedtime was five minutes ago, but he spent the time tossing and turning. It’s hard to sleep when he doesn’t feel like it. And Kyungsoo has no idea why, because he has his favourite blanket with him and his giraffe plushie snuggled up by his side.

 

The faint light streaming in through the window had caught his attention and so here he stands, on his tippy toes, admiring the full moon. He learnt from a cartoon show that the moon is made of cheese.

 

A noise outside pulls his face downward. A black cat has climbed up to the second floor somehow, balancing on the ledge near his room and meowing at him once it realised it has garnered his attention. His gasp cuts the eerie silence of the night. “Don’t move!” he mouths, worried the cat might fall and get hurt, before he scrambles to fetch his chair and climb up to open the lock and push his window open. He sighs in relief as the cat smoothly jumps in.

 

“Sleepover!” he gushes excitedly once he has properly shut the window and put the chair back in place. “Soo never had friends sleep over before!”

 

The room is filled with quiet giggles as the cat rubs itself against his legs.

 

“Kitty hungry?” he turns to his nightstand where there’s still some milk left in his glass.

 

The cat moves away and heads for the bed instead, climbing into it and making itself comfortable. It stares at him and kneads its paws against the sheets.

 

“Sleep time. Okay,” he climbs on, crawling back into his spot earlier. The cat moves too and snuggles up to him, and Kyungsoo smiles when purrs rumble from it the moment he strokes it softly.

 

“Sweet dreams to you too, uh...” the cat looks at him, and he grins sheepishly. “Kuro. Okay, Soo will remember that. Sweet dreams, Kuwo!”

 

Happy and content, Kyungsoo – and the cat – falls asleep.

 

 

 

Unbeknownst, the owner of the eyes that have been spying from the window of the next house finally moves away and pulls the curtain.

 

 

*

 

 

Kyungsoo blinks at the stars drawn across his own crayon drawing for art class, before he looks back up at the teacher. “Soo gets stars?”

 

Teacher Dae’s nod makes his heart leap. He looks back at the paper in his hands, counting three stars altogether. “All? For Soo?”

 

“Yeah. You deserve it bud,” the man smiles assuringly. Kyungsoo like his smile, it curls at the edges of his lips like Kuwo’s (Kuro’s). And Tan’s and Lui’s and Jii’s and all his other cat friends. “You did an amazing job!”

 

He runs his fingers across his artwork. It’s of him, and all the animals he plays with frequently behind the school. There’s Meokmul the poodle, Vivi the giant, Tan the quiet kitty, Umin the hungry squirrel, Tweety the birdie, Myeon the bunny, Xing the fox, even Mimi the deer. They’re all standing in a circle, holding hands and dancing under the sun and rainbow.

 

He looks up at the teacher. He had been wary of the new teacher who just started working at the pre-school a month ago, but he was quick to have everyone, including Kyungsoo, warm up to him. “Stars for Soo...and his friends too?”

 

The smile on the man’s face falters, before he releases a soft sigh, getting off his chair and kneeling in front of the boy. “Kyungsoo-ah, have you ever thought of...drawing your friends?”

 

He frowns, confused. “But they are Soo’s friends,” he says, turning around the paper to hold it up and show it off to the teacher, little finger pointing at the animals.

 

“Yeah, they are,” teacher Dae smiles at the picture, pushing it down so he can see Kyungsoo’s face again. “What I meant is your classmates. Don’t you ever want to draw them? I’m sure they’d be super happy if you do.”

 

“Soo doesn’t understand,” the little boy says. “Soo can’t draw animal friends again?”

 

“Of course you can. You can draw anything your big heart wants, Soo. I was just thinking about your _human_ friends.”

 

His face falls then, and the grip on his paper turns a tad bit tighter. “But Soo doesn’t have human friends.”

 

“Don’t you want to make some?” the teachers asks instead. “You’re nice and kind and draw well. I’m sure they’d love to play with you.”

 

Kyungsoo stays quiet.

 

“Are you shy?”

 

No answer.

 

The teacher purses his lips before he ruffles Kyungsoo’s hair. “It’s okay, bud. I’m not forcing you to. But try, yeah? I don’t want you to be lonely and have no one to talk to. You can always talk to me, though!”

 

Kyungsoo beams at that. Teacher Dae really is his favourite teacher in the whole world. “It’s okay teacher Dae, Soo talks to his anima—”

 

And he catches himself just in time.

 

“What was that, Soo?”

 

“Soo—Soo will try. Talk.”

 

He hugs the drawing close to his chest.

 

 

 

 

 

The drawing gets the highest spot among all his artwork pasted on the walls of the small treehouse. It’s pretty, it’s his masterpiece, it has stars, and most importantly it’s of them – him and his precious friends. The birds help him put it up there, because his limbs are too short to reach for it, and they help put the tape on the corners of the large paper too.

 

It’s slightly slanted to the side, but it’s perfect. Kyungsoo grins. “Soo likes it,” he declares, and Tweety – a bright little sparrow – perches on top of his head, chirps along. “Soo’s glad you like it too!”

 

He’s ready to sit and eat his sandwich, and maybe play with the cats and dogs already waiting for him outside after because he has promised them, until a series of persistent barking breaks the peace. And Kyungsoo is confused because the barks – they’re not calling for him, and he has already told the dogs to not scare the deer that comes to visit occasionally.

 

“Hey!” he hears a voice, a _human_ voice, and it freezes him in place. “Um, what-is-your-name-person-in-the-treehouse, help?”

 

Kyungsoo finds no malice in his tone, but he’s aware he’s easily tricked – he thinks the word to describe it starts with n, mommy has used it before but he can’t remember – so he can’t really trust his instincts. He looks to the squirrel beside him, because Umin is smart in this kind of things, but he only receives a blink in return.

 

He doesn’t want a repeat of a bad memory though so he crawls forward and peeks out from the door to the treehouse to the ground below.

 

It’s a boy, probably of the same age, but definitely one he has never seen around before. Biting his lips, the boy is looking at the dogs and cats in front of him warily, particularly at the one that had stood up and barked at him earlier.

 

Realising the dog is about to growl, Kyungsoo quickly calls for it. “Psst, Hun,” the dog stops and looks up at him. He shakes his head, and the dog tilts his own. He frowns and shakes his head faster.

 

“Thank you,” he almost jumps at the voice, shifting his gaze back to the new boy. “I like dogs but he scared me a little!”

 

Kyungsoo sinks into the treehouse, only letting his eyes visible from the ground.

 

“Can I come up?”

 

No one has ever asked to come up before! Eyes widened, Kyungsoo immediately slinks back and turns to the birds and squirrels. “He wants to come up!” he whisper-shouts. He can’t believe this, and he doesn’t know what to do.

 

Umin climbs up his shoulder and sneaks close to his ear.

 

“Okay,” Kyungsoo nods after he has listened, “Good idea!”

 

He peeks out again, and nervously calls out for the boy who’s now drawing patterns on the ground with his shoe. The boy whips his head up faster than he could blink. “Uh—” he clears his throat, trying to make his voice stern but not being able to hide the waver, “h-hold up your palms!”

 

The boy makes a confused face but does as told, cupping his hands so that his palms are facing up like when he’s trick-or-treating.

 

Umin whispers something in Kyungsoo’s ear, and he turns to the boy below again. “Not like that! L-like this,” Kyungsoo sits up on his shins, and holds both palms up beside his head.

 

“Ohh,” the boy says, and he complies. Umin seems satisfied with that, Kyungsoo notes, but his sudden shout has Kyungsoo startled and the birds flying. “I SURRENDER!!!”

 

“W-What are you doing?”

 

“I thought we were playing police,” the boy says sheepishly.

 

Umin sighs.

 

“No,” he fiddles with his fingers. “Soo doesn’t know how to play that..”

 

“So why did you asked me to show my hands?”

 

“T-To make sure you don’t bring r-rocks,” he says seriously.

 

“I don’t have any with me,” the boy pulls out his pocket flaps, showing them off, “See. But I have candies to share!”

 

Kyungsoo’s eyes glimmer at that. He loves candies. It’s a luxury his mommy doesn’t indulge him in often. “Share with Soo?”

 

“Yea! And maybe I can teach you how to play police too! And other stuff!”

 

Maybe the boy really does mean no harm.

 

 

 

 

Jongin is his name, Kyungsoo learns. Kim Jongin.

 

(“Jong..ni?”

 

“No, Jongin. Jong-IN.”

 

“Okay, Jongni.”)

 

And Kyungsoo also learns that they’re very different, in all ways possible; while he’s as fair as the first snow in winter, Jongin’s skin is kissed by the very first sunrise of summer. While he doesn’t like to pluck flowers, preferring to see them bloom on the ground, Jongin gathers them all to make a bouquet. While he doesn’t have any sweets, Jongin keeps lots of them. While his movements are awkward and calculated, Jongin moves with the soul of a freely dancing wind.

 

And while Kyungsoo is a quiet child, Jongin is...loud.

 

Or maybe he’s too used to the silence or the animals’ sounds, that a human voice besides his family members’ and teachers’ has started to sound foreign to his ears. But for sure, Jongin talks a lot.

 

For the past fifteen minutes, Jongin has already told him a lot of things. Happy things, sad things, scary things. And Kyungsoo realises that Jongin has such a colourful life, and he’s really _living_. Even if he’s only 6 years old. They’re of the same age, apparently, but Jongin’s a new kid from the next class, which explains why he hasn’t seen him before.

 

Kyungsoo had sighed in relief at that. So Jongin’s not a troll from the forest here to eat him.

 

He’s still wary of the other though, despite the dogs and cats having warmed up to the boy quickly. He doesn’t think he’s ready to let a person inside his treehouse, so they’ve been spending time on the ground instead.

 

“You play here everyday?”

 

They’re rearranging the flowers Jongin has picked to form shapes. Kyungsoo’s trying to make a giraffe, reminded of his plush toy at home, but there’s not enough flowers so he has to shorten the neck. It looks like a horse now. “Yes. Soo has lots of friends here,” he says distractedly, trying to figure out what he should name his creation.

 

The dreaded question comes a little too soon, and even if he has expected it, it still catches him off guard.

 

“Why don’t you play with everyone at the playground?”

 

He fiddles with the last flower in his little hand nervously. “Soo likes it more here...” he trails off, hoping that’s enough.

 

Unlike other kids – or adults – who immediately attack him with more questions or coax him into interacting with the other children, Jongin only stares at him, and his eyes shift everywhere around him, like he’s looking at something that’s surrounding him. Even Umin notices and tilts his head. Kyungsoo would be lying if he says it unnerves him a little. Has Jongin finally realised he’s weird? Or thinks that he’s mean? He’s gonna leave Kyu—

 

“Okay! Then I will play here everyday too!”

 

His heart stops for a moment, and Kyungsoo can’t process the words long enough. “R—Really?”

 

“Really really!” Jongin nods enthusiastically, expression determined and excited. “We can come and play together again and talk again and eat lunch together too! My papa packs me delicious food everyday. Next time we can share!”

 

The dogs bark in excitement, jumping around the other boy and licking his face when he laughs. “Everything...together?” Kyungsoo searches his face for any sort of hesitance, not finding any. “With Soo?”

 

“Of course!” Jongin exclaims, holding Meokmul away as the dog tries to lick his mouth while he’s talking, “We’re friends!”

 

 _We’re friends_.

 

He looks down at the two stick people Jongin has made out of his flowers.

 

“O-Okay,” he says quietly.

 

We’re friends. Kyungsoo kind of likes that.

 

A smile blooms on his face, small but as bright as the flower Jongin has used as his face on the stick figure.

 

“Okay.”

 

 

*

 

 

Even if he wishes against it, he half expects Jongin to not show up. A little pessimistic of him, but Kyungsoo already has a little idea on how harsh the world can be.

 

But Jongin does. He comes to their secret spot with his Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse lunchbox and a big gummy smile.

 

And the next day too.

 

And the day after.

 

And the day after that.

 

And it goes on and on and with a few blinks of Kyungsoo’s big eyes, it has been three weeks. Three weeks that felt like a lifetime, because days have been colourful with Jongin around, more like the colours in his drawings and crayon set than the bland days he’s been living for the past year since the Incident happened.

 

He has also discovered that Jongin is the new neighbour’s son and they live just next door, which means more time together in the evenings if their parents let them go out on playdates whenever one family invites the other over for dinner.

 

There’s always that gnawing worry and insecurity, that Jongin might get bored of him. The other kids are louder, faster, friendlier, and funnier than shy, timid Kyungsoo, so Kyungsoo can’t really fathom why Jongin would want to play with him when he has other friends to play with. Kyungsoo should know, having seen how the other kids greet him, and it honestly scares him because he’s liking Jongin more and more too.

 

But Jongin never leaves.

 

“A promise is a promise!” Jongin says when Kyungsoo asks him why he stays. “And Ohana means no one gets left behind!”

 

“But Ohana means family.”

 

“Well, who says friends can’t be family?”

 

Kyungsoo shuts up at that.

 

Yes, that’s one more thing peculiar about Jongin – he seems to know what to say at the right time, even if it sometimes doesn’t make sense or connect. Kyungsoo tries to retort sometimes, and he lets slip more words than he’s used to, much like the witty child he had been before.

 

Of course, not everyone is perfect. Kyungsoo learns this when he sees Jongin’s art skills, not being able to hide the wince the first time Jongin shows him his work.

 

He draws awful. The only good thing he can draw is bears.

 

“Teach me then,” Jongin says sheepishly. “I want to get stars like you too.”

 

So while he’s learning a lot of things from Jongin, the other boy learns a lot from him too. And it puts Kyungsoo at ease, because once Jongin had found out that he worries that Jongin will un-friend him someday because he has nothing to offer, Jongin quickly pointed out all the instances Kyungsoo has helped him. Kyungsoo doesn’t know how Jongin noticed his worry though. He doesn’t ask.

 

 

 

 

 

The fifth Sunday since the two first met finds them in Kyungsoo’s backyard, watching an army of ants trailing from their nest to a hole in the fence separating their two houses. They had tried to count how many ants there are but with limited fingers and toes and after arguing if one ant has already been counted or not, they gave up and decided to just watch what they bring back to their colony instead.

 

“They do this with their horns every time they bump,” Jongin holds out two fingers on each hands, bumping the tips.

 

“Antennae,” Kyungsoo corrects, “Soo watched cartoon. They commu...communicate,” he nods, satisfied that he remembers the word.

 

“So they talk with those?” Jongin’s eyes are full of wonder.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Without their mouth? They can understand each other like _pew pew_!” he makes a zapping motion with his fingers pointing from his head to all directions excitedly, “So cool!”

 

It hits home. Kyungsoo sinks his head a little further, his voice muffled when he mutters a quiet, “yeah..”

 

It’s a little quiet then. Too busy with his thoughts, Kyungsoo doesn’t realise Jongin is staring at him instead of the ants, until the other boys voices out loud. “Hey Soo. Let’s share secrets. Like the ants.”

 

Kyungsoo turns to the other boy warily. “Secrets..?”

 

“Yea. One a day,” he holds up a finger, “it can be anything and not be everything! Just share...what we want to share! It can be funny, it can be sad, it can be scary! But only between us.”

 

He’s never done this before – telling secrets. Nor has he ever has someone for it. Jongin makes him try a lot of new things. And Kyungsoo’s not so sure about this but he wants to try. But it seems fun, and it’s such a friend thing to do, and Jongin looks like he’s already ready to spill something; fist balled as if he’s holding it in by the hand.

 

Kyungsoo finds that the smile that stretches his lips isn’t even hesitant. It’s genuine and trusting, more so when he agrees with a “Let’s!”

 

“YAY!” Jongin bounces up from his crouching spot, cheering. “No lying, okay? And—and we seal our shared secrets with a sacred cookie everytime!”

 

“And pinky promises?” Kyungsoo holds up his little finger.

 

“No, no, pinkies can get hurt and it’ll break the promise. Cookies stay in our tummy!”

 

Kyungsoo gasps, holding his little finger close. Why has he never thought of that before? Getting up and dusting off the dirt that got onto his shorts, he looks at the excited boy. “We start today?”

 

“Uh...do you have cookies?”

 

He checks his pockets and looks left and right. “No,” he says sadly.

 

“Mommy just made some,” Jongin turns to his house. “Wait here!”

 

True enough, Jongin comes back with a piece of chocolate chip cookie. He stands in front of Kyungsoo, offering the other side of the cookie for Kyungsoo to hold. “Ready? I’ll go first.”

 

Kyungsoo puts his fingers on the other half and nods.

 

“I dance! I can do ballet and I go to ballet classes every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays after school.”

 

“So that’s why Jongni doesn’t go home with Soo on Mondays and Wednesdays and Fridays.”

 

“Uh-huh. Come on Soo, it’s your turn.”

 

“Soo, um..Soo draws?”

 

“Pfft, Soo, that’s not a secret!”

 

Kyungsoo looks at him offended. “Then how is ballet a secret?”

 

“I know you can draw Soo. It’s not even a secret,” Jongin snaps the cookie in his hold nonetheless, and declares it sealed. They spend a minute nibbling on their parts. “My ballet, I do keep it a secret!”

 

“But why?”

 

“Because other boys will laugh at me, cos they said it’s a girl dance,” Jongin says, even if he looks unfazed. Kyungsoo doesn’t like the thought of people laughing at Jongin though. “But I’m not ash..ahh..ashamed of it. I love it. And one day I will show ‘em how pretty ballet is! …just not now because I can’t do my spins right yet.”

 

He breaks off into a dance right after, hopping and twirling and jumping across the garden on unstable, but sure feet. It’s passionate, and Jongin has never looked more carefree.

 

It’s not perfect, maybe a little clumsy, and he may be 6 years and 3 months old—

 

but Kyungsoo thinks it’s beautiful.

 

 

*

 

 

Playdates over at Jongin’s is always fun too. The boy has lots of comic books of superheroes, like Jongin’s Superman lunchbox, and figurines and toy cars. Kyungsoo brings his own bucket of legos sometimes, so that they can build a city and play monsters and heroes. His giraffe doll Mr Loey is his bestest sidekick.

 

But today, instead of zooming into Jongin’s room with him, Kyungsoo stops in his tracks in the middle of the hallway leading to the stairs. Realising Kyungsoo’s not tailing him, Jongin turns around with a confused, “Soo?”

 

“Goldfish...new?”

 

The top of the shelf he often passes by is no longer vacant, occupied by a fishbowl. He looks at it curiously, noting there are one, two, three fishies swimming around an aquarium decoration of a fake barrel and seaweed.

 

Jongin walks over to stand beside him. “Cousin Baek’s pet fish,” he explains, “He’s going to Japan with his family so we’re taking care of the fishies.”

 

Kyungsoo mumbles an “ooh,” in understanding, and Jongin giggles at how it looks similar with the fish mouth.

 

Kyungsoo doesn’t giggle along.

 

He’s staring at the fish inside, and the fish swim near the glass. A little finger raises to press against the glass softly, and they all slow from their rapid swimming, crowding near the finger instead – looking at him.

 

“Wow,” Jongin whispers, amazed. “they never come to me before.”

 

“Maybe Jongni bump finger on glass too hard,” Kyungsoo says with a grin.

 

“No I didn’t!” he grumbles, earning a little giggle. “I’ve been trying to teach them tricks too. But they won’t do it. I think they hate me.”

 

“What kind of tricks?” he eyes Jongin warily, “Jongni take them out of water?”

 

“No no! Tricks like Mr. Bean did with his goldfish. Like, like dolphins with hoola hoops. But with a cheese ring.”

 

“Let Soo try!”

 

Jongin dashes upstairs and comes down a few minutes later. “No cheese rings so we borrow mommy’s yellow watch.”

 

“Jongni, this is gold bracelet.”

 

“Oh,” Jongin looks down at the jewellery in his hand, and shrugs. “Maybe goldfishies will like it because it’s gold.”

 

Jongin’s logic always amazes Kyungsoo.

 

He takes it, holding it above the water and looks at the fish. Jongin’s jaw drops when one immediately jumps out and through the bracelet. Kyungsoo gives him a proud smile.

 

“Amazing! That’s so super great!” Jongin gushes, “Do it again, do it again!”

 

Kyungsoo holds it up again, and not one, but two of the fish jump through concurrently and land back into the water with a plop. The third one follows a little later, and Jongin is so amazed he claps his hands and bounces in his place.

 

He stops with a gasp.

 

“So they _do_ hate me!!”

 

(They accidentally drop the golden band in the water and don’t know how to get it out. Mommy finds out and Jongin gets scolded for taking things without permission and playing with her accessories. Jongin concludes that the fish have cursed him.)

 

 

*

 

 

“You understand them.”

 

Kyungsoo stops walking, and so does Jongin.

 

They’re in the small forest behind the school, walking along a path between the trees a few ways away from the treehouse, with the animals.

 

The barking of the dogs playing in front of them fades in the distance, and the cats rub themselves against their feet. Yet Kyungsoo is unmoving, the silence too deafening and his heartbeat too loud in his ears.

 

“You can understand them. The animals,” Jongin repeats, looking at him straight in the eyes. There’s no hate, no disgust in them, just pure inquiring.

 

Blunt and straightforward and honest, Kyungsoo wouldn’t have expected it to come from Jongin any other way.

 

And lying is against his principles, so he doesn’t deny it. He doesn’t admit it right away either, finding his mouth too dry for that, looking down at the cat meowing up at him instead.

 

“Is—” he keeps his gaze down, “Is...Jongni. Is Jongni gonna laugh at Soo?”

 

“Huh? No,” Jongin says, and he looks up, blinking at the now grinning boy. “I think that’s really cool!”

 

“Really?”

 

“Really really!” he makes a serious face, “I’ve always wanted to know what the cats are thinking when they gave me their stink eyes. Like this,” he squints his eyes, curling his hands near his face to mimic paws.

 

“The cats are saying they don’t look like that..”

 

“Reaaally,” Jongin sends his own stink eyes to the cats. He looks back up at Kyungsoo, not wanting to stray from the topic. “I still think it’s really super duper amazing!”

 

Kyungsoo’s apples cheeks colour red. Seeing someone being so excited and more importantly, accepting of something he has been hiding for so long is such an exhilarating feeling, he feels like he’s going to combust. It doesn’t last long, however, narrow shoulders sagging once he remembers the reason he has been hiding his power. “Other people don’t think so.”

 

“They don’t?” Jongin is genuinely confused. “But why?”

 

Kyungsoo doesn’t answer. Jongin lets him go, like he always does, and reaches for Kyungsoo’s hand. “It’s okay. Because you can’t share it with other people, you can share it with me. We’re friends, right?”

 

A smile grows on his lips. “Yea. Friends.”

 

“Hey that can be the secret for today,” Jongin points out, pulling out his pouch from his pocket where he keeps some cookies from his lunch pack. “I have a big secret too.”

 

“Big secret?”

 

“Very big, like yours,” they hold the cookie. The tanned boy leans in, looking left and right if there’s anyone else besides them and the animals and finding none.

 

Then he whispers conspiratorially, “I see colours.”

 

“H—Huh?”

 

“I can see colours. Lots of colours,” Jongin cracks the cookie and takes a bite. A situation is never too serious for a good cookie. “Floating colours, like blobs in the air. In many shapes. And sizes!”

 

The cookie stays in Kyungsoo’s hand, the boy too astounded to say anything. It piques his curiosity, its level reaching the clouds, because he has never imagined or heard or seen something like this even in cartoons. Jongin continues walking ahead and he moves too, when the dogs get impatient and tug at his shirt to follow along. “What do colours do?”

 

“Nothing,” Jongin says simply. “They don’t bite me like mosquitoes...but!! They surround people sometimes. Like flies. Or, or maybe fireflies because they glow.”

 

“Why do they ho..hover around people?”

 

“They show what people are feeling,” Jongin takes his hand, “Come on, I’ll show you.”

 

“But Jongni, I can’t see them,” he says unsurely. This is so new.

 

A big grin takes over Jongin’s mouth. “Mommy said sometimes you don’t need your eyes to see, Soo.”

 

 

 

 

 

They’re hiding behind the bushes, crouching beneath a shrubbery as they observe the other kids spend their recess. Some are still finishing their lunch, but most are already playing on the school playground.

 

“Luhan,” Jongin points a finger at the boy playing chase with his friends. Kyungsoo’s eyes follow. “Luhan has lots of oranges. He’s being hyper.”

 

His finger moves and directs it to another boy who’s pouting on the swing, face set in a frown. “Zitao is mad, so there are red blobs all over him.”

 

“Jung and Liu,” the girls are playing in the sandbox, one of them shyly accepting the bucket the other is offering. “Pinks. Hello Kitty pinks. They like each other,” oh, Kyungsoo didn’t expect that.

 

“Teacher Dae,” he says next, and they look at the man on the bench reading a book. “He has lots of blue...the blue like the sky. It’s when a person is relaxing…I think mommy said the word is being ‘calm’ and con...conten...I can’t remember.”

 

“Does Jongni like the blue?” Kyungsoo peers at him curiously. Being calm and quiet, Kyungsoo guesses it’s that feeling when he’s lying in the grass with the cats and dogs and bunnies are all over him and they do nothing but it still makes him happy. He likes the feeling.

 

“Sometime,” Jongin nods vigorously, his expression changing afterwards. “But only that blue. I don’t like the other blue...”

 

“There are lots of blues?”

 

“Uh-huh. I don’t like the dark one. It’s when people are sad,” Jongin explains quietly, as if afraid the aforementioned colour will come. “If person is very sad there will be many dark blues. Like big wave in big scary oceans,” he shivers, “I don’t want dark blues around me. I don’t want to drown. Do _you_ know how to swim?”

 

Kyungsoo shakes his head no.

 

“So don’t be sad, okay?”

 

“Soo will try!”

 

 

*

 

 

Kyungsoo thinks it’s all a dream.

 

Another person with abilities? Talents? Superpowers? ...whatever it is. Kyungsoo doesn’t even have an idea what to call it, because he thinks talents and superpowers are to help people and make people happy. His...ability did none of those, or so he has always thought.

 

It’s hard to believe, but he knows for a fact that Jongin isn’t lying. If Jongin demonstrating – or rather, pointing out what he sees accurately – isn’t enough of an evidence, then Kyungsoo would say he just trusts Jongin like that.

 

But Jongin still comes the next day, and the topic still arises. So it’s not a dream. It’s very much real, Jongin is very much real, his _ability_ is very much real. Like his own. He may not see what Jongin sees around people, and the boy may not hear what he hears from the animals, but both their abilities are not just products of their imaginations.

 

And with that conclusion, Kyungsoo realises he’s not alone.

 

“Of course you’re not!” Jongin says when he voices this out. “I told you again and again. And again! You have me!”

 

He smiles bashfully at that.

 

The wonders doesn’t stop there and his eyes shimmer with amazement as Jongin tells him that he has actually tried to reach for the colours. Hands move around, seemingly grasping at thin air, but Jongin tells him he has done this before; putting the colours he can reach and rearranging those with the same pattern or size or simply gathering the ones with the same hue. What happens shocks Kyungsoo to the moon, because a glow starts to appear where Jongin has been steadily ‘putting’ his colours, but it disappears a little too soon.

 

“Wh—” he clings to Jongin’s arm, “What was that?!” Even the dogs are weirded out, sniffing at the spot the glow had been.

 

“I call it a window!” Jongin tells him, resting his hands on his lap because it’s too much work for his short limbs. “I collected lots and lots of colours before and—and a window like that opens and I go through it!”

 

“To go where?” he tilts his head, “To the other side of the window?”

 

Jongin breaks into a fit of giggles. “No, silly! To wherever I want! It’s like Doraemon’s pink door!”

 

“That’s so wow!” Kyungsoo has never been this amazed. His eyes are wide, and his heart is still pumping fast. “Jongni, make a window!”

 

“It only worked once, Soo,” Jongin says, “I was in the room and I missed my papa so so bad. I played with the colours and BAM!” he almost falls back, if not for the dog righting him. “I went through and I was in papa’s office chair at work!”

 

“Whoa!”

 

“Yea,” Jongin swings his legs, looking up at the bright sky. “One day when I can do it so many times I wanna go to everywhere I want!”

 

Jongin looks serene, happy. He’s looking at the clouds like he’s ready to grasp for them some day. Mommy said good dreams are in the clouds and good people will reach for it, and Kyungsoo thinks Jongin has wonderful dreams to achieve with his power.

 

“Where does Jongni wanna go,” he asks shyly. Kyungsoo hopes Jongin will take him along when he reaches for the clouds. Maybe Kyungsoo can find his dreams somewhere over there too.

 

“Lots of places,” Jongin spreads his hands out. “I wanna go lots of places! Funfairs, waterparks, maybe even catch a UFO. Oh, we should go to Mars!”

 

“Wow,” Kyungsoo marvels at Jongin’s words.

 

“But I one day I wanna go into your treehouse first,” he sighs, turning to Kyungsoo sheepishly after. “If you’ll let me.”

 

The treehouse?

 

Kyungsoo blinks. Maybe he can help Jongin catch his dreams.

 

 

 

 

 

“Let’s go,” he blurts out a few days later.

 

Jongin looks at him confusedly, hand stuck mid-air. He was just about to take out his colour pencils from his bag, because they agreed that they’ll spend recess with Kyungsoo teaching Jongin how to colour prettily today. “Huh?”

 

“Treehouse,” Kyungsoo points at the old thing above them. “We can colour in treehouse.”

 

A giggle almost slip out from Kyungsoo’s lips as he watches Jongin’s dumbstruck face, and it does when the boy immediately lights up like a Christmas tree. “I can? Go up?”

 

“Yea,” he says, “But promise Soo not to laugh!”

 

Jongin stands straight and holds up a palm. “I promise!”

 

And up they go.

 

The floor is slightly dusty, now that Kyungsoo rarely ever comes up here since Jongin has arrived. Some of the tape have peeled off and the drawings are barely hanging onto the wall, but the place is beautiful as ever – small, bright, and home.

 

Jongin’s awe is apparent in his eyes and the little “wow” he lets out, brown orbs panning everywhere and Kyungsoo has never felt more exposed. The artworks tell most of his life stories, things he couldn’t tell and things that he has not enough words to describe with. Some are coloured with crayons, some with watercolour, some with colour pencils, but all the same, they are made with his own two little hands and portrays everything in his heart.

 

The new guest is silently observing, admiring the works of the 7-year-old. Why is Jongin so quiet? Kyungsoo gets nervous by the second, was that “wow” earlier a wow for how bad they are and does Jongin not think he’s great at drawing anymo—

 

“This place is great!” Jongin says, dropping his backpack onto the floor. Quiet Jongin is gone, loud Jongin is back. “You draw so prettily! I feel like I’m in Kung Fu Panda when Shifu took Po to the hills to that place of origin of kung fu! To learn kung fu!! But I’m here to learn art. I’m absorbing the power!” he drops to his knees. “Oh teach me, master.”

 

Just like that – Kyungsoo laughs.

 

Kyungsoo laughs, he laughs so hard his little tummy hurts. He has never laughed so loudly, so freely, and never had a friend to join in just as Jongin is doing, and it feels like he’s floating, even if he and Jongin are just rolling on the hard wooden floor of an old, abandoned treehouse.

 

“Why did Jongni laugh,” he says once they’re done, sitting upright and pulling out his own papers and crayons beside. There’s no bite in his words even when he says, “Jongni promised not to laugh!”

 

“But that’s a _different_ laugh, Soo. I was laughing because you are laughing! So hard! I want to laugh with you. Laughs have to be shared! So more yellows can come,” he picks up a yellow crayon and holds it up.

 

“Yellow come when we laugh?”

 

“Yea and it’s my most favorite color. Ever!”

 

“Yellow like the sun? And sunflowers?”

 

“And corn ice creams and honey that bears eat,” Jongin lays on his stomach and immediately set to work. He draws blotches of yellow on his paper, filling all over. “I want to draw my family, and me, and you, and our animal friends, and I want yellows all around all the people I love!”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because yellow is around people that smile, and laugh. Yellow is happy. I want everyone to be happy.”

 

Kyungsoo spends a few seconds staring before he picks up a crayon too. “I want lots of yellows too.”

 

Jongin turns at that. “You like my power, Soo?”

 

“Mmhm,” he nods for extra emphasis. He thinks Jongin’s power is really great. “Jongni can help a lot of people. Jongni can know when people are sad so Jongni can help them, even if Jongni can’t make the blobs come to them.”

 

“My papa said feelings are from the heart,” Jongin shares, patting his chest. “And we can’t control the people’s heart.”

 

“Yea...and—and Jongni knows when person is angry and want to do bad things so Jongni can stop them. Jongni is like a superhero.”

 

“We can be superheroes together!”

 

Kyungsoo shakes his head, the smile falling off his face like his heart dropping into his stomach. “Soo...hurts people.”

 

The words sound absurd and brings a frown to Jongin’s face. “You never hurt people.”

 

“But Soo did,” he stresses out, “Soo’s ‘power’ is not good. People don’t like Soo’s ‘power’. They said Soo is ‘crazy’ or—or ‘stupid’ for talking to animals.”

 

Jongin senses the shift in atmosphere easily, sitting up. The smile is no longer on his face either as he reaches for Kyungsoo’s hand. “What do you mean you hurt people?”

 

“So—Soo,” he shrinks into himself, “please don’t hate Soo.”

 

“I can never hate Soo. I promise! You can take all my comic books if I ever break it”

 

It takes some time, and some soothing rubs on Kyungsoo’s little hand until he opens his mouth again. “Soo was playing with dogs,” he whispers at first, the bad memory a monster he has never spoken of. “then a weird man asked Soo if Soo was lonely. Soo said no,” he curls his fists, “the weird mister still wanted Soo to go with him.”

 

“Stranger danger,” Jongin whispers.

 

“Yea and—and then he grabbed Soo’s hand, and Soo got really scared, even doggie friends were growling. And then when the mister was going to pick up Soo, doggies got angry, really angry, because mister was gonna take Soo and—”

 

“And?”

 

“Doggies jumped on the mister,” Kyungsoo chokes up. “Doggies bit and scratched mister even if Soo tell them to stop already.”

 

“Oh...until the man...bled?”

 

Lips start to wobble. “Yea,” his voice is small as he continues. “Friends at kindergarten knew Soo can talk to animals. Some saw doggies attack mister, friends said Soo told doggies to do it, but Soo didn’t,” fat tears roll down his cheeks. “So they called Soo mean stuff and bad words.”

 

“I don’t get it,” Jongin shakes his head, “it’s not Soo’s fault.”

 

“But if Soo don’t have powers and doggies don’t like Soo maybe doggies won’t attack mister—”

 

“Then do you hate your power,” Jongin looks at the birds perched by the window who are watching the scene. “Soo don’t like animal friends?”

 

“No, no! Soo likes animal friends so, so much!” he cries harder now, wiping at his snot. “Soo just. Scared. Power only good for Soo. Power can hurt other people.”

 

Jongin’s lips pout, before he moves to give a big hug to the sobbing boy. Being scared is a horrible feeling. “We can do a lottt of things with our powers! Lots of good things! So that you don’t have to be scared anymore!”

 

“But—but-”

 

“Like Soo said, power can help people. And Soo’s power is amazing, okay, amazing! Um, I think it’s okay to hide it now but one day we’ll show them how great it can be!”

 

Balled fists wipe at his eyes and red nose. “Like Jongni’s ballet?”

 

“Yea, like my ballet! We don’t have to be a-ash..ashamed of it. We’ll show ‘em, Soo. They won’t laugh at you – or me – anymore. And for now I will protect you!”

 

“But the mister..”

 

“Soo, the mister is a bad, evil stranger. If doggies didn’t save Soo maybe Soo won’t be here and Soo wouldn’t have met me.”

 

Kyungsoo gasps aloud at that. He can’t imagine a life without Jongin. The tears build up again, and Jongin quickly pulls out his handkerchief, and a cookie.

 

“This is our secret today,” he declares as they hold the cookie together. “My yellows, your treehouse. And your story,” he makes a face, “but that means two secrets from Soo.”

 

Kyungsoo sniffles into his handkerchief. “Two cookies?”

 

“Okay because Soo deserves it! My second secret will be that I have promised to protect Soo!”

 

 

*

 

 

“Alright, time’s up everyone!” Teacher Dae claps his hands. “It’s reading time now so pass up your artwork!”

 

A collective “aw” resonates around the room, but the kids comply nonetheless, cleaning the tables and packing up their colours before they hand in their papers to the teacher’s desk one by one and racing one another out of the door.

 

Kyungsoo is the last to walk up to the front, as per usual, and he clutches his paper nervously. Teacher Dae takes it from him with a smile, but stops short once he looks at the paper. The silence is unnerving and worries him.

 

A ruffle of his hair grabs his attention back to the man.

 

“I’m so proud of you, Kyungsoo.”

 

And Kyungsoo beams.

 

 

The drawing of him, Jongin, and the animals, dancing on clouds in space and among happy yellow blobs he shaped into stars, takes the highest place in the treehouse.

 

(Beside it is Jongin’s drawing of them both and the animals too, except that among the yellow circles are pink globes. Jellyfish, Kyungsoo thinks.)

 

((They’re not.))

 

 

*

 

 

Summer creeps in slowly but steadily, like the vines climbing up the wall to Kyungsoo window, and the time nearing school break. And the last weeks of school days mean one thing: school trips.

 

The last Saturday before summer break finds Jongin and Kyungsoo in neither of their rooms, at home with their families, but in a moving bus with the other kids of their grade. Had it been any other school trips, Kyungsoo wouldn’t have cared less, but today he has Jongin – and Mr. Loey, his giraffe – and today—

 

Today, they’re going to the zoo.

 

Kyungsoo has heard about zoos. A place that houses so many animals he has seen in his storybooks, animals they wouldn’t normally see roaming the streets. Animals he has never talked to. He wonders if they want to be friends. The other children are singing together to a song, but he’s too busy pondering about all the life he’ll see.

 

The hand that encloses his shifts his gaze away from the world outside, and he turns away from the window to look at the boy beside him.

 

“Are you excited?” Jongin asks, his dangling legs swinging back and forth on the edge of the seat.

 

Jongin doesn’t even need to ask. The healthy blush on his chubby cheeks are proof enough, but he nods anyway, a smile finding its way onto his face.

 

He’s really, really excited.

 

They spend two hours on the road and half of another for briefing. When they’re finally gathering at the front of the gates, the teacher instructing them to line up into three separate groups while the staff scan the tickets, Jongin immediately pulls him to run to the front of the line. He’s not used to it, having always found comfort at the back unnoticed, but right now he’s too excited to even be mad. And maybe he’s a little happy too.

 

Even after passing the gates, Jongin manages to get them the frontmost seat on the zoo train for their group. It’s a three-seater and smiley teacher Dae is the one that slides into the free space, to his relief.

 

“Alright kids, are you ready?” Teacher Dae turns and hypes up the groups, earning enthusiastic cheers in return. “Let’s go!”

 

Their train passes by cages of smaller mammals first, and upon Kyungsoo’s presence, they come out of hiding even if some are nocturnal and it’s broad daylight. The other kids are pointing and calling out for the creatures, but Kyungsoo is too busy looking left and right, trying to take in all the different animals he has never seen before. The only thing he recognises is the raccoon and the fox. The others are so new. And look so cuddly!

 

The track leads them to the bigger sections of the zoo, where they are given time to get off the train and get closer to the pens and cages. The first stop is the Asian Trail and it’s a first for Kyungsoo and Jongin to see camels and pandas in real life – perhaps Zitao’s too when his squeal is heard from all the way back – then the Bird Park that houses colourful feathers.

 

The Primates Sanctuary is where Jongin asks him the question even he has been wondering.

 

“What are they saying?” the boy asks, referring to a group of baboons screeching and chattering. “Can you understand them?”

 

“S—Soo can,” he confirms, gripping Jongin’s hand in his. They barely let go of each other. “They’re just…singing.”

 

Jongin makes a face. “They sound awful.”

 

“And they’re challenging the people to throw them food.”

 

“I brought a banana!” Jongin pats his bag, “should I give them? No, I wanna give it to the orangutan. They look nicer.”

 

“But mister staff and teacher Dae said we can’t feed them!”

 

“Aw.”

 

Teacher Dae ushers them back to the vehicle. “Alright, come on now, back onto the train. We’re going into the wild!”

 

The journey continues to the American Lands and the Reptile Roams, and everything is just as exciting, if not more. More and more animals come to view, and Kyungsoo really has never felt and heard so much at once. It’s loud but it’s so interesting, hearing what these creatures have to say, and he makes sure to tell Jongin all about it. The boy is just as excited.

 

At the Great Cats division, a big lion previously sleeping on the top of its rock den with its pride stands, yawns, and suddenly roars. The kids and the public visitors gasps and takes steps back, before cameras start clicking away and cheers resound for the giant cat to do it again.

 

“Did it say something interesting?”

 

“Lion said..um,” Kyungsoo fiddles with the strap of his bag nervously, “Soo doesn’t know if Soo can say it…”

 

“I wanna know, pretty pleeaasse?”

 

He glances at the lion one last time and turns back to Jongin. “’what are you stinky hairless monkeys looking at?’”

 

“…”

 

“The tigers in the other den were nice though!” Kyungsoo brightens up, bouncing on his heels. “They said what aunties always say! They said we look so cute they wanna eat us!”

 

“And I say we need to go.”

 

The African Safari is where his jaw drop the lowest, and his eyes open the widest.

 

The zebras’ pattern makes him want to trace them with his little finger, and the coats of the bison and wildebeest are magnificent and he wonders if they are as thick and soft as they look.

 

He hugs Mr. Loey tight when they meet the giraffes. They’re so, so tall. Taller than his daddy, than any man or any animals he has seen so far, he and Jongin have to crane their necks when the giraffe comes close. A soft “hi,” is all he manages to get out in reply to the giraffe’s gaze.

 

But nothing, absolutely _nothing_ prepares him for the elephants.

 

The elephants are _humongous_ in little Kyungsoo’s eyes.

 

“Wow,” Jongin breathes when they watch the elephants from their spot right at the edge of the pen.

 

Wow is an understatement.

 

He’s too starstrruck to say anything, just silently watching the creatures, wondering if they can fly with their ears had their bodies been a little smaller.

 

“Are they saying bad things to you?” Jongin stands close to him, probably wondering why he’s too quiet.

 

He’s silent for a few more minutes, locking eyes with a group of younger elephants. “No, t-they wanna be Soo’s friends,” he clutches his giraffe doll.

 

“Then why are you scared?”

 

“They’re too big.”

 

“Then they have bigger heart to love you!’

 

Kyungsoo blinks at that. He really has never thought of that before.

 

Before he can reply with anything, one of the bigger elephants lifts its head and trunk, and _trumpets_.

 

It pulls a gasp out of him, and his hold on his stuffed toy loosens. By the time he realises it has slipped from his hold, it’s too late. “Mr. Loey!” he yells when the doll drops into the elephants’ den.

 

Some of the kids laugh at him but he’s too panicked to care, even if Jongin is throwing daggers at them, he’s panicking about his best friend. Mr. Loey has been there since forever, and he can’t lose it.

 

The laughs turn into gasps and worried mumbles from the public. Kyungsoo doesn’t realise everyone is backing away and even running, distancing themselves from the pen, ignoring Jongin’s tugs on his shirt. It’s only when a shadow is cast over him that he looks up.

 

The elephant looms over him. It’s the biggest ever, trunk and tusks massive. It’s _majestic_.

 

A woman even screams when the elephant seems to get closer despite the pen separating them, seeming as if the elephant is going to trample the two boys frozen in place, staring at the humongous thing in awe.

 

It means no harm.

 

Kyungsoo knows.

 

But his mouth is still gaping as the elephant picks up the doll with its trunk and hands it to him. He reaches to it robotically, looking at it then back up at the elephant, before a gummy smile spreads on his face.

 

“Thank you,” he says, hugging Mr. Loey and daring to reach out and pet the trunk.

 

And the elephant—

 

It uses his trunk to pet him back. And Jongin too. On their heads, making the boys giggle and cameras behind them snap away.

 

The elephant trots away right after, considering its job done.

 

 

The silence of the public is replaced with claps and chatters of awe, and a blooming pride grows in his chest.

 

 

 

 

 

“Do you think the goldfishies at home would’ve liked it here?”

 

Kyungsoo looks around. They’re surrounded by iguanas, big lizards, and snakes contained in glass cages. “No,” he answers, not a heartbeat too late.

 

“Not _here_ here, I mean, here,” Jongin laughs as they continue their walk. They’ve been dropped off at the second amphibian and reptile exhibit, and are given 15 minutes to roam around freely. “Here in the zoo. They can have lots and lots of fish friends back at the aquarium.”

 

“And bigger home too,” he agrees with a finger to his chin, thinking. “Wait, but what if big fishies eat them—”

 

“Hey freak!”

 

The two startle and turn, Kyungsoo immediately going tense at the sight of the three boys walking up to them. The word, even if he hasn’t heard it in so long, brings a fresh cut.

 

“Huh,” Jongin checks the info on glass cage to his side, one that contains a python, and turns back to the boys. “I don’t think his name is freak, it doesn’t say here.”

 

“We weren’t talking to the snake,” the boy remarks, “we’re talking to _that_.”

 

Kyungsoo shrinks and tries in vain to hide his face. He doesn’t have to when Jongin steps in front. “His name is Kyungsoo.”

 

“No, his name is _weirdo_!” they burst into laughter. The frown on Jongin’s face says he doesn’t find it funny at all, and so does the second step he takes forward.

 

He’s stopped by the hand that grasps at his shirt. “Jongni, no.”

 

“What, too scared to face us?” the one in the middle taunts, “or too stupid to talk to humans?”

 

Their laughter balls Jongin’s hands into fists. Kyungsoo’s face is growing red, and he really doesn’t want to cry on this special day, so he holds it in.

 

Jongin doesn’t have patience like him, however. “No, he’s just too smart to talk to people like you!”

 

“Why are you even friends with the dumb boy, now he’s making you dumb and stinky too!”

 

People are turning their heads now, and Kyungsoo doesn’t like the attention. Everyone is watching, and it feels like they have accusing eyes on him, bringing back past nightmares.

 

“ _You_ are stinky!” Jongin spits, and he has never seen the boy look so angry before. Jongin usually just pouts silently, but now he’s downright mad. “Even the teacher said bullies like you are rotten apples!”

 

The boys clearly take offense, faces angry but Jongin isn’t fazed at all. One of the boys points at Kyungsoo, eyes mean as he yells, “Freaksoo is _crazy_ and that’s it! He’s bad, and he’s stupid, he can’t talk to people and he thinks he can talk to animals—”

 

“You’re jealous.”

 

“W-What?”

 

“You’re all just jealous,” Jongin states confidently, “you have dirty, nasty greens all over you.”

 

The boy doesn’t know what to say, so his friend steps in. “Y-You’re just saying dumb stuff like Freaksoo now, haha,” he says, probably not understanding the green part but definitely looking like they’re found out. The animals around Kyungsoo starts to wake from the tension surrounding him, looking over at him and the boys.

 

But Jongin isn’t done. “You’re jealous because he gets to pet the elephants, aren’t you?”

 

“Who would be jealous of befriending smelly animals—”

 

The animals heard it, and senses Kyungsoo’s fear and sadness. They start making noise or moving close to the glass of their respective cages

 

“Jongni,” he tugs at the boy’s shirt some more.

 

“And you’re jealous because lots of bunnies and deer and baby goats in the petting farm went to Soo,” Jongin drills on, nailing home, “they all like Soo, and not your bad manners. Who’s the one smelly and stinky here?”

 

The boys obviously don’t know how to answer to that, probably not expecting to have it all laid out in their faces. “So what?”

 

And it’s all Kyungsoo needs to know that Jongin’s right. They’re just envious.

 

“So you’re pathetic and uncool,” Jongin finishes as he finally makes to turn and take Kyungsoo out of there, far from the boys. “Let’s go Soo.”

 

They didn’t get far when suddenly Mr. Loey is yanked out of his hands. “Hey! Give him back!” Kyungsoo yelps.

 

The boys laugh at his wavering voice. “’him’? Did it tell you that he’s a boy, freaksoo?” they mock.

 

“Stop it!” Jongin shouts.

 

“Maybe he’ll scream if we pull his head off!”

 

“No!” Kyungsoo he rushes forward without thinking, eyes on his giraffe doll that he doesn’t see one of the boys pulling out something from his back.

 

By the time Jongin moves to pull him back, it’s too late. The stone has been thrown, and it hits Kyungsoo on the cheek and making him fall on his butt in shock, the sharp edge cutting into the soft skin enough to make it bruise.

 

When Kyungsoo touches his face, his hand pulls back bloodied.

 

The animals went berserk, and Jongin shrieks. “What did you do!”

 

“I—I didn’t mean—” the one who threw it steps back. The situation finally dawn on the boys, and they get scared. “Stay back or I—I throw again!”

 

 

 

Jongin is fast, pushing the boy down. He’s reaching for the boy’s hand to make him let go of the stone and the other boys are on him in an instant—

 

“What is going on here?!”

 

 

*

 

 

They are set for punishment once school opens on Monday, all five of them. After their parents were informed of the fight, Kyungsoo and Jongin are grounded in their rooms once they return home from the zoo, banned from playtimes for the rest of the week.

 

But that’s not what hurts Kyungsoo, no.

 

It’s the memories that come flashing back. And the cut on his cheek – now bandaged and applied with ointment – isn’t what stings the most. It’s the words.

 

He knows what ‘crazy’ is. He knows what ‘weirdo’, ‘stupid’, and ‘dumb’ are too. He’s not exactly clear what a freak is but he knows it’s nothing good. He guesses it’s a mix between scary and weird.

 

No, he doesn’t want to be scary, he never meant to. All he wants is to be happy, for people around him to be happy, for the animals to be happy. For everyone to be happy. He never meant to make people jealous either.

 

He didn’t cry when he was hit with the stone, because he remembers being called ‘weak’ too for crying back then, so he had tried to contain them as best as he could. But now that he’s in the dark of his room, curled on the bed with only Kuro looking questioningly at him, he lets them free.

 

The first tear stains Mr. Loey. The second hits the pillow. The third never makes it down, Kuro nosing up at his chin and licking it away, but after minutes pass by even Kuro can’t stop them and curls by his side instead.

 

Flashes of light stream through the window. There’s no way the moon can move like that, so Kyungsoo gets up and heads over, looking out and realising it’s Jongin from his house across, using a flashlight to grab his attention. He wipes his tears and snot with his sleeve, well are he looks like a mess.

 

Jongin looks at him worriedly and bends down. He comes up again and raises a whiteboard. ‘ar you okey?’

 

He shakes his head.

 

Jongin’s face drops and he writes something again. ‘you haf lots of blus’

 

Face scrunching up, the tears build up again.

 

‘oh no don cry : (’

 

It only manages to make him cry harder.

 

‘you one me to come?’

 

‘noo stop crying thay wil draun you’

 

‘i’m comin’

 

Unless he’s sneaking out of his house, Jongin’s not going to come. Their parents are restricting them and keeping a good watch, even if it’s rather late into the night and past their bedtime.

 

With heart as heavy as his feet Kyungsoo drags himself back to the bed to continue his misery, Kuro meowing at him. He doesn’t say a word to the cat but scratches behind her ear. Just as they’re all snuggled up again a glow appears in the middle of the room, prompting him to quickly sit up and—

 

Jongin drops to his floor.

 

The boy looks left and right almost frantically, checking if he’s at the right place and when eyes land on Kyungsoo. “Soo?”

 

“J-Jongni?” Kyungsoo whispers, voice merely a squeak. “Jongni!”

 

Little feet scramble up and Jongin bolts for the bed, jumping into Kyungsoo’s open arms. The latter burst into tears yet again, crying his heart out, and it’s making Jongin tear up too.

 

“I told you I’ll come,” he says, quickly wiping the tears before they fall. He doesn’t want to make Kyungsoo feel bad or cry more than he already does. “I promised I will protect you! Even if it’s from the blues!”

 

“Soo sorry,” Kyungsoo sobs, pulling away to cover his eyes, “Soo made Jongni grounded and—and we can’t have playdates and—Soo—teacher mad at Jongni and—”

 

“Shh,” Jongin raises a finger to his own lips, “your mommy and daddy will hear us and kick me out and we can’t be together so shh!”

 

Kyungsoo quietens but his hiccups doesn’t. Jongin picks up Mr. Loey and pushes it into Kyungsoo’s hands, and picks up Kuro too to place her in Kyungsoo’s lap for extra comfort.

 

“One,” he raises a digit, “it wasn’t Soo’s fault. It’s the bullies’. You saw them Soo, they’re just jealous. They don’t hate your power. They think it’s great and they want it too and be like you. Because Soo is great. That’s why.”

 

“But they called Soo bad words and said mean stuff..”

 

“They’re angry because they can’t have what you have,” Jongin says seriously. “Papa said sometimes angry people say and bad things.”

 

“Like—like throwing rocks?”

 

“Yea,” he says sadly, looking at the bandage on Kyungsoo’s puffy, smooth skin, before looking back at him and holding his hand. “And two! It’s okay, Soo, we can still meet and play at school!”

 

Kyungsoo presses his face into his giraffe doll, wiping his tears there. “Play a lot with Soo, okay?”

 

“We will play lots,” he then tugs at Kyungsoo’s hand, silently asking for him to remove his face and look up. “And three! Do you remember what happened with the elephant?”

 

“Yea,” he breathes, the memory fresh in his mind and one that he’ll treasure forever. “Elephant helped Soo.”

 

“And one day,” Jongin smiles, “animals will help others like that too, if you ask them to. Because they understand you,” he holds an arm out, “do you remember people cheering too? See, they don’t know you have power but they know that your intercation was amazing!”

 

“Interaction...”

 

“They were all scared at first but then they thought it’s great! And even took pictures, click click!”

 

“I don’t understand.”

 

“It means,” Jongin grins, gripping Kyungsoo’s hand tighter, “you can prove that power is not scary, and won’t hurt people. You can show them that it’s great and can help everyone!”

 

Kyungsoo stares down at Kuro, who’s now asleep in his lap.

 

“Your power is great, Soo.”

 

 

His nth tear hits Jongin’s hand.

 

 

 

The four parents found the two huddled up together in Kyungsoo’s bed the next morning, cuddling and snoozing with a cat at their feet.

 

 

*

 

 

A step into the school and everyone quiets.

 

So quiet that it almost makes him take a step back, but Jongin’s hand clasped with his is reassuring, and so is his smile.

 

The other kids are looking at him. The gaze burns right through him, and he keeps his head down, but Jongin whispers, “they’re not mad or gonna do bad things, Soo,” he looks at the boy, “there are so many white blobs. They’re curious and _awed_.”

 

The pitter patters of feet turns him to a girl walking up to them. “Hi, I’m Seulgi,” she introduces herself, and plays with the hem of her skirt. “Um, I saw you yesterday, an—and that was so cool.”

 

The situation is so new that he turns to Jongin for help, only receiving an encouraging nudge in return.

 

“T—Thank you..”

 

All the other kids rush forward then, all at once surrounding him and asking if he wants to play with them some time, and Kyungsoo is overwhelmed and he feels—

 

Accepted.

 

Amidst the commotion, his and Jongin’s hands never break hold. The boy laughs, and he giggles along, never knowing how good it feels to be so _free_.

 

“Hey we don’t know your name!”

 

Jongin gives him the biggest smile, and Kyungsoo knows everything will be okay.

 

 

“Soo’s name is Soo. Kyungsoo.”

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

He steps off the car, thanking the Uber driver, and sighs in relief as he takes a look at the time. It’s only 30 minutes past 7 so he’s not too late, or so he hopes.

 

Taking the train and then the Uber was a smart choice. The parking lot is full of cars and bikes, and he’s not up for the pain of walking all the way to the party in the middle of the night just because he gets a spot far outside the premises. Either way, he’s glad he can make it nonetheless.

 

He’s not always up for gatherings and reunions – unless there’s good food – but this one is not something he’s willing to pass up on.

 

The gates are still the same creaky ones as 18 years ago, aside from the new paint. He takes a moment just relishing in the familiar air as he steps through, and children’s laughter echoes in his ear if he focuses just enough, feel a familiar hand in his.

 

It feels like a whole lifetime back since he met the boy who turned his life upside down, and downside up. The first person he came to know to have powers, though not the last. But no other superhumans has ever made him feel as unalone, as proud of his power, as the boy did.

 

Growing up together with the boy was an adventure. They had their fights, like all friends do, but none ever lasted long enough, because with them there is never one without the other.

 

They didn’t see it coming. The father received a letter from the company for a transfer, and they only had a month to prepare. They were 14, they were best friends with something between the lines, and they weren’t ready. But almost everything meets its end at some point, and they lost contact a year into the separation.

 

He learned that sometimes parting is necessary, because only then he learned to live by himself, for himself. It was hard, it was challenging, with no hand to hold his and no voice to defend him, but it’s okay. The other left, physically, but memories and encouragements stay held close to his heart. He grew to stand up and speak for himself.

 

“Kyungsoo?” he opens his eyes – when did he close them? – and it’s a man in mid-forties, with a smile as youthful and bright as a new day.

 

“Mr Kim,” he can’t believe the man could make it. He goes right in for a hug, the man laughing and patting his back.

 

“Teacher Dae is enough,” he says, looking Kyungsoo over once they have separated. “And you’re still as small as ever.”

 

He scoffs, good-naturedly, and asks what the man is up to while they walk up to the building, and is delighted to learn that Jongdae started travelling and singing once he quit teaching and went into song-writing. He’s in a team now, producing music, and while it has been a tough journey, he’s living his life.

 

Kyungsoo scratches his jaw when it’s his turn to tell his part. “There’s nothing much to tell,” he shrugs, “finished school, just fresh out of uni.”

 

“Did you take up art?”

 

“No, but it’s a hobby,” he assures, reminded of all the palettes and sketchbooks at home. “I studied zoology. I’m freelancing right now, doing animal photography while I wait for confirmation from the places I applied for a job.”

 

They stop at the main doors, music and chatter from inside faintly streaming through the gaps. Jongdae turns to him, eyes kind as he stares into Kyungsoo’s own. “Are you happy? With your life?”

 

He thinks of it. “I’m only 24...” he begins, “I think my life is... not yet complete but—but I’m happy,” he gives a small smile at this, satisfied with the thought. “Yes, I guess I’m happy.”

 

Jongdae chuckles, patting his shoulder. “Hope you find something to complete whatever it is that you feel missing soon.”

 

He’s ushered inside just before he can ask what he meant.

 

Most of the faces are unfamiliar, though that’s to be expected when these are people he hasn’t seen for years. It’s kind of bizarre to think that they were once his classmates and people of the same grade, studying to write and draw all the years back, now grown up and matured.

 

He talks to some, greets people, though mostly he’s just watching the scene quietly while sipping his juice and reminiscing memories brought up by the biggest to the smallest of things – the little hole in the wall at the right corner of the room, the scratch and doodles on the study table now used to house the drinks, the blackboard behind the banner, the secret door leading to the back of the school—

 

The treehouse.

 

He excuses himself from the people asking if he’s up for a chat, leaving the room instead to jog outside. His pace doesn’t slow, feeling like he doesn’t even need to recall the way when it’s all muscle memory, leading him to a place he once called home.

 

There are less trees, is what he first notices, but the old, big one is still standing strong if not bigger. And on it is the wooden treehouse, old, beautiful, and—

 

And alight.

 

There is light coming out of the small window, and his feet move almost automatically. It draws him in, and before he knows it, he’s below the wooden structure. There is no more hanging ladder, but there’s a metal one seemingly stolen from the staff closet for the technicians and it puts a confused frown on his face.

 

Who would be sane enough to visit an old, barren treehouse by the forest in the middle of the night—

 

A thought crosses his mind. The guy hasn’t been back in years, no news or contacts whatsoever, why now?

 

The logical part of his mind fails to stop the blooming hope in his chest though.

 

And so he climbs up, one step after another, heart thumping wildly in his chest the nearer he gets to the door and when he does reach it, his heart and breathing stop altogether.

 

Old drawings are pasted anew, hung on the walls with poorly cut tapes and in a messy pattern. In the middle of the floor is a man with silver blond hair, back facing the door and figure hunched over the light casted by the torch hanging on the ceiling, working on yet another old drawing of a 6-year-old to put up.

 

“Jongin?”

 

The man turns. His smile is just as bright as the light he brought to Kyungsoo’s life.

 

Kyungsoo really can’t stop the tears.

 

 

 

“Oh hey, you got my name right!”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i hope everyone has lots of yellow blobs right now!


End file.
